Edward Simon's 'Femininas'

“One of the strongest pianists of his generation” (DownBeat), SFJAZZ Collective pianist Edward Simon presents his project Femeninas, celebrating the legacy of the women songwriters of Latin America including Marta Valdés and Violeta Parra of Cuba, Chabuca Granda of Chile, Elizabeth Morris of Argentina, and Joyce of Brazil. For this special night, Simon and his trio with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Adam Cruz were joined by the GRAMMY-nominated Mexican vocalist Magos Herrera and Venezuelan percussionist Luis Quintero.

A native of Punta Cardón, Venezuela, Simon moved to New York in 1989 and worked extensively as part of Bobby Watson’s Horizon and the Terence Blanchard Group while doing sideman work with artists including Greg Osby, Bobby Hutcherson, Paquito D’Rivera and Herbie Mann. He co-founded the band Afinidad with saxophonist David Binney that navigated the intersection of modern jazz with Brazilian forms and contemporary classical music, and his desire to explore traditional folk music of his homeland resulted in the formation of Ensemble Venezuela in 2003 and his 2017 Sunnyside trio session Latin American Songbook — a release that won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album. Simon became a member of the SFJAZZ Collective in 2010 and was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship the same year.